Orange Blossoms: Year 1
by Lady Chaos the First
Summary: Mandy Brocklehurst is eleven years old when she learns about magic and with it, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Her enjoyment is fully formed, until she discovers the truth; who her father really was. First installment in a seven book series.


August 27th, 1991

My name is Mandaria Brocklehurst, and I'm a witch. I'm not insulting myself, simply stating a fact. As a matter of fact, in three days I'll be starting Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It's a real pity I couldn't go last year, but my birthday is in December, so I had to wait nearly a full year until I could finally go. Mum was beside herself when the deputy headmistress, Professor McGonagall, came to our house to explain everything. She fainted when the deputy vanished our china cabinet. Virginia, my elder sister, thought that it was a hoax. "There isn't such thing as magic!" she kept on saying, to the point where I wished I had some Sello-tape to stick her mouth shut. But I think that seeing a real wand and hearing about feasts and classes and dormitories should have been proof enough for her. And meeting a Transfiguration professor. Transfiguration is changing things into other things, which sounds interesting already.

Professor McGonagall said that since I was a witch now, and was aware of my powers, I mustn't ever abuse them. I had before, but since I didn't know that I was a witch, I wouldn't be reprimanded for it. All the same, I wish that I could use a spell on Virginia like when I was eight. She was being awful like she usually is, and I managed to clamp her jaws together. I don't really know how I did it, but she couldn't say a word for the rest of the day. Good riddance.

I went shopping at a place called Diagon Alley to get my school supplies about a week ago. Mum and I got a letter from Professor McGonagall again, saying that she'd meet us in London at the Leaky Cauldron. I've naturally been to London several times, but I had never heard of this "Leaky Cauldron" place. Virginia said that this proved it was a hoax. I personally told her to keep her mouth shut, and she said that she wished Katherine and Miranda were here to back her up.

Katherine and Miranda are older than me, and they're twins. Term already started for them by then, but Virginia had till September 1st because she's in high school, as she's fond of saying. But really, if I thought that being woken up at an ungodly hour and finding out I was a witch was surprising, Diagon Alley was psychotic.

When we got to London by taxi, after strolling around for a bit, I finally saw some kind of dirty place that said, quite clearly, "The Leaky Cauldron". At first glance, I wondered why on Earth we were going to a pub. But the funny thing was, Mum and Virginia couldn't see it! They kept looking and looking. Eventually, we walked inside, and I was right, it was a pub. Professor McGonagall, though, was thankfully waiting for us by a drunk-looking wizard. She immediately got down to work, which I was grateful for.

She led us out back to a brick wall and tapped it with her wand. Suddenly, bricks vanished until we could all step through, and Diagon Alley was fully visible. The place was crowded and busy, with people muttering on about Galleons and robe prices, whatever those are. Professor McGonagall briskly said, " I'd go to Gringotts first if I were you. You can't buy much without money. Of course, if you're squeamish about goblins, you could stay here while I do it." This led to a few minutes of frenzied whispering.

" I told you she's trying to con us!" I don't need to explain who said that. But Mum brought up the more important issue. " Goblins? There are not only wizards but also goblins! Is that woman going to feed us to them?" I tried to stay calm.

" Goblins can't be very big. Besides, we don't actually have to give her our money." Finally, we said we'd come.

Gringotts is a huge building made out of white marble. It was tall, and loomed over the rest of the buildings. Inside, we really did see goblins! They were writing things on parchment (just fancy, parchment!) and weighing gold and doing all sorts of things with money. Mum handed over the pounds she brought with her, and they got exchanged into Galleons. Wizards have an odd money system; it doesn't work like sterling at all.

Once the money was sorted out, we visited Madame Malkin's robe shop. Out of all the uniforms out there, wizards picked robes? It seemed silly to me. A pair in the shop turned a different color every second though, so maybe I could learn to live with wearing robes at Hogwarts. However, that fantasy was smashed when I took a peek at my school list. It said to bring three pairs of plain black work robes. But I got measured up for them, and I also got a pointy looking hat and a winter cloak.

After that, we went to get a wand. I had been looking forward to getting one most of all. Mr. Ollivander seemed a little creepy, with the abnormally pale eyes, but he was very kind. It took a while to find the one that suited me, but I finally got one that was Eucalyptus, Chimera Scale, 11 ½ inches long. I could just tell when I reached the right one, because it set off sparks into the air, making Mum and Virginia jump.

My schoolbooks came next. Flourish & Blotts is full of the most fascinating things. After getting my basic books that I need, I looked around for a while, and then I spotted these diaries that are never-ending. So, as you can see, I bought one. The cover is blue and marbled, and the inside is full of parchment. It's funny, the outside isn't any thicker than a bar of soap, but inside the pages just go on and on.

The Magical Menagerie was so crowded and noisy; it made me jump out of my skin. I picked up a black cat, just to set off the witch stereotype to perfection. Her name is Morwenna; I'm getting witchier every moment. Mum kind of clucked her tongue when she saw all of the cat hair, but didn't say anything.

Now it's really late, but I don't want to sleep. School starts in three days! It's hard to imagine going back to being a regular old muggle now. And I'm glad that I can leave and study real magic. All of the schoolbooks are very fascinating, but it must be even better at school. I like school better than being at home, anyways. Virginia is always teasing me about everything, and Katherine and Miranda are too snobby to really like talking to me. It's always so quiet that I can't even think most of the time, because I have to stay with Virginia after school while Mum sells houses.

Maidstone isn't a very large place for real estate, but Mum sells a lot, and once she won a cruise for selling the most. She couldn't go, though, because she caught pneumonia and had to stay home. Our house was given to us by the real estate agency Mum works for. The place is pretty small, and the walls really need to be repainted, but it was free, and I'm glad.

I don't have to worry about telling people I'm leaving, but Mum does. She's saying that I got accepted to go to Benenden, a prestigious school. In reality, I'm packing my bags for Hogwarts. I don't have many friends, just Lizzy Morgan who used to sit next to me in the cafeteria. I bet that at Hogwarts loads of people would like me, because being smart doesn't count for figs in my schools.

As far as brains go, I know I'm smart, but not in marks. I don't care about marks that much, honestly. If you got an A on a quiz but never learned anything, then it doesn't count. So I care more about really learning things, which other people don't.

The packing! Lord, Mum just came in with yet another load of laundry. I'm pretty sure you're supposed to only bring one trunk to Hogwarts, but at the rate she's going, I'll be taking five! I packed my overnight bag last month, so I'm all set, theoretically. I have my History of Magic and Charms textbooks (they're the most interesting), my bear, whose name is Egbert, my nightgown, my slippers, my dressing gown, a change of clothes, and my uniform. At least I won't be taking too little. It seems as though I'm going away for a decade, not till Christmas break!

I should really be going to sleep now, because Mum thinks I'm asleep, but what I'm really doing is using my wand for light and writing with my quill under the covers. Oh! I just remembered something! I should take my old diary with me! It's got a flimsy lock, and I really don't want Virginia to read it. This one's far better in terms of security. It's password protected, and if you don't write it, all you see is a blank page. I have to write down the password at the end of every entry to lock it, or else the entry will disappear.

Good night, Diary. Water Lily.


End file.
